Soarin' Around the World

Description And Comments

Soarin' is a thrill ride for all ages, as exhilarating as a hawk on the wing and as mellow as swinging in a hammock. If you've ever experienced flying dreams, you'll have a sense of how Soarin' feels.

On June 17, 2016, Soarin' Over California became Soarin' Around the World: taking you above sights such as The Great Wall of China, the Sydney Harbor, and the real Matterhorn.

Once you enter the main theater, you're secured in a seat not unlike those on inverted roller coasters. When everyone is in place, the rows of seats swing into position, making you feel as if the floor has dropped away, and you are suspended with your legs dangling. Thus hung out to dry, you embark on a hang-glider tour with IMAX-quality images projected all around you, and with the flight simulator moving in sync with the movie. The immersive images are well chosen and drop-dead beautiful thanks to cutting-edge 4K digital projectors. Special effects include wind, sound, and even smell. The ride itself is thrilling but perfectly smooth. We think Soarin' is a must-experience for guests of any age who meet the height requirement. And yes, we interviewed senior citizens who tried it and were crazy about it.

But a North Carolina mom says, "Wait a minute!"

Soarin' was VERY cool but definitely on the scary side for people afraid of heights or who don't like that "unsteady" feeling. While we were "soaring" up I was fine, but when we were going down I had to continually say to myself, "This is only an illusion, I cannot fall out, this is only an illusion . . ."

Touring Tips

Aside from being a true technological innovation, Soarin' Around the World also happens to be located near the entrance of the park, thus ensuring heavy traffic all day. It should be your very first attraction in the morning after experiencing Cars Land, or, alternatively, use FASTPASS. If you arrive later and elect to use FASTPASS, obtain your FASTPASS before noon. Later than noon you're likely to get a return period in the hour before the park closes, or worse, find that the day's supply of FASTPASSes is gone. Interestingly, while this ride is virtually identical to Soarin' at Epcot, the line for DCA's version moves much more efficiently.

This chart shows you roughly how long you'll wait for Soarin' Around the World when you visit on a day with a given Disney California Adventure Crowd Level. The blue bars represent the average "peak" wait time (that is, how long the line will at its busiest). The bottom and top black lines represent the range of peak wait times to expect (for you fellow nerds out there: it's the 5th percentile and 95th percentile of peak wait times). Please note that these are estimates, and for a better forecast for your travel dates, see Soarin' Around the World Wait Times.

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